Machine tool feed drives

This paper reviews the design and control of feed drive systems used in machine tools. Machine tool guides designed using friction, rolling element, hydrostatic and magnetic levitation principles are reviewed. Mechanical drives based on ball-screw and linear motors are presented along with their compliance models. The electrical motors and sensors used in powering and measuring the motion are discussed. The control of both rigid and flexible drive systems is presented along with active damping strategies. Virtual modeling of feed drives is discussed. The paper presents the engineering principles and current challenges in the design, analysis and control of feed drives. (C) 2011 CIRP.